The States
by JeremyGU
Summary: Ranma, Akane, Kasumi, and Dr. Tofu take a trip to the United States. One-shot.


_A/N: This story came to me in a flash; so much so that I wrote it and am uploading it in an hour's time. (Don't worry, I proofread it.) If you're an American, I hope this story touches you. If you aren't, this may help explain some of our sentiments._

_Rumiko Takahashi owns Ranma ½; I do not. Please don't sue._

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Ranma, Akane, Kasumi, and Dr. Tofu stared out the windows of the minivan carrying them, marveling at skyscrapers lining the street. This had to be the _second_ busiest place they'd ever seen. "It looks a lot like central Tokyo, doesn't it?" Kasumi mused. The others nodded in agreement. This was a huge trip for them- literally halfway around the globe. Tofu was meeting with people from all over the world for a medical conference. He'd explained the purpose to them, but no one understood. No one else understood English, either, so they depended upon him for communication. Fortunately, other than having a slight accent, Tofu's English was spotless, so even in a busy city like New York, they were able to get to where they were going.

Taking this trip together allowed Ranma and Akane to both reflect upon the past decade. It was hard to believe it had been so long, but time sure does fly once school is over. They held hands in the back seat, remembering a time when such a display of affection would have seemed insane to the both of them. Of course, big events cause big changes, and Jusendo was the epitome of big events. The failed wedding didn't exactly help to bring them together, but it did move things along- it was the next couple of weeks, a time of awkward silence and tension that you could cut with a knife, that finally pushed the couple over the edge.

They both intimately remembered what was, for both of them, the best moment of their lives. Ranma had climbed to the roof above Akane's room, in a vain attempt to clear the mess that was his mind, only to have Akane show up next to him. They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Ranma gathered up what courage he had. After a nervous breath, he blurted, "I was really scared at Jusendo, when I thought you were dead. I realized how awful it would be if something happened to you. I don't ever want to lose you. I want to be with you. Forever." He exhaled. "There," he said softly, "I said it." Before he could even blink, Akane had thrown her arms around him and their lips were together. They held eachother in silence, and later cried together as they talked about all the times they'd scared one another from almost dying. It was the moment that changed everything. Gone was the tension, as well as the insults and anger; in its place was an open acceptance that marriage would follow high school. It did; the same summer they graduated.

Life started to move fast after that. The Tendo Dojo, with Ranma and Akane as instructors, quickly became a real business. Money came in, and knowledge went out, to the dozens of students they'd taken in over the years. Nabiki went to, and graduated from, business school. She'd be with them right now, if she weren't busy being the CFO of a major electronics manufacturer. And, of course, a few dropped hints had led Kasumi to spend enough time around Tofu that he learned to see and walk in her presence. It took a while, but eventually dates started happening, and Kasumi Tendo became Kasumi Ono just in time for her ten-year high school reunion.

Even that was a few years in the past by now. It was easy to look back wistfully, as the former chaos they'd become accustomed to had died off after the wedding. It turned out that saying "I do" was an effective means of chasing away unwanted fiancées. Shampoo had gone back to China, Ukyo dated and eventually married Konatsu, and Kodachi, well... he wasn't sure what ever happened to her, but he assumed she was institutionalized somewhere with a mental illness. The times were especially good with the news that Tofu had gleefully given to Akane and Ranma a couple of months ago, as he held the results of a blood test: the couple would soon be a family. Ranma absentmindedly rubbed Akane's belly as she laid her head on his shoulder. She wasn't showing yet, but they both knew she would soon, and they couldn't wait to get to parenthood.

Glancing at their surroundings, they were amazed by the sea of taxi cabs that stretched down every street they passed. There were subways, taxis, buses, and even with those the sidewalks were packed at every turn. Tofu explained that this part of New York was called "Manhattan", and it was the busiest part of the city. Some of the biggest corporations in the world were in those skyscrapers, he pointed out. The others mentally compared it to Tokyo. Tall buildings and more people than they could count: perhaps Japan and the States weren't so different after all.

The taxi pulled to a stop. The buildings in this part of Manhattan seemed to be the tallest so far. They crossed a stone plaza; a few people wandered about, as well as an ungodly number of pigeons. While the city was crowded when they arrived yesterday, it was early enough now that the crowds were only starting to gather. Akane admired the gold sphere that adorned the fountain in the middle of the plaza, but as pretty as it was, it was nothing compared to the building they entered. It towered over them; a hundred stories tall, easily. The lobby was big enough to fit the dojo in, a hundred times over. Flags of all the countries in the world hung from a balcony that stretched out of sight. Kasumi pointed to the flag of Japan as she spotted it. They were awestruck at the size of everything. They would never forget this place.

"Does anyone know what time it is?" Tofu asked no one in particular. Kasumi looked at her watch. "Quarter after eight," she replied. "Good," Tofu replied. "I have about a half hour until the meeting is supposed to start. Maybe you guys can head up to the observation deck?" They walked over to a counter where an attendant smiled at them. "Excuse me," Tofu said in English. "Where would we find the observation deck?" "Floor 107 of the other tower," came the reply, "but it won't open until nine." Tofu frowned. "The only observation deck is in the other building," he relayed in Japanese, "and it won't open until nine. I don't think you guys should hang around down here alone since none of you know English." "Is there a lobby outside the place where your meeting is?" Kasumi asked. Tofu turned back to the attendant and spoke quietly, before coming back with an answer. "This meeting area is a private room of a restaurant, and the lady says the restaurant lobby is open." Kasumi beamed. "Oh good," she said. "Afterward, we'll all be able to go to the observation deck together!" Tofu thanked the attendant, and the group headed for the express elevator. He stopped at a directory. "Windows on the World... floor one hundred and six," he read. "Wow," Akane said, marveling at the thought of being on the 106th floor of a building. As they headed into the elevator, Ranma squinted at the sign, but he couldn't understand the English writing: ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER.

The four of them got off the elevator at floor 78, where they had to switch to a different elevator to travel the rest of the way. Tofu glanced at something on the wall. "What does it say?" Akane asked. "It's a calendar," Tofu replied. "It says today is Tuesday, September 11, 2001."

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_Author's note: Since people are trolling the comment board, let me explain one thing. We're reaching a day and age where the younger members of the fan fiction community are so young that they don't remember 2001. I set out to put familiar faces to the tragedy that happened that day. Are you upset that these characters, that you saw grow and mature in the manga or anime, be killed in this way? Three thousand families had that exact thing happen, and it was to real people, that they'd known their entire lives. If you can't grasp that aspect of this story, that's your problem. Don't flame my comment board because your powers of observation are sub-par; especially if you haven't written a single story yourself. I'm just to block your ass so that you can't review any of my other stories._


End file.
